Social movements are transformative agents for biodiversity conservation

Abstract

Civil society has long been a catalyst for social change by reshaping structures, influencing values, and challenging power dynamics; however, its role in driving transformative change for biodiversity remains underexplored. To address this gap, we analyze 2,801 socio-environmental mobilizations documented in the Environmental Justice Atlas (EJAtlas). These mobilizations produce diverse outcomes that reveal distinct spatial, temporal, and sectoral patterns and proactively and reactively respond to environmental impacts across the globe. Notably, about 40% of these mobilizations occur within the top 30% of global priority lands for species conservation and their actions contribute to the achievement of key Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework targets focused on ecosystem protection, restoration, sustainable use, and inclusive spatial planning. Yet, one-third of mobilizations face repression, criminalization, or violence-pressures that are even more common in high-priority conservation areas. Moreover, mobilizations facing repressive outcomes contest environmental threats relevant for the KMGBF targets more extensively than those with progressive outcomes, underscoring the risks faced by movements driving biodiversity protection in critical regions. To amplify the transformative potential of socio-environmental mobilizations, we emphasize the importance of recognizing, strengthening, and protecting them through coordinated action among diverse social actors. By fostering collaboration and targeted resource allocation, these efforts can empower socio-environmental mobilizations to catalyze meaningful and lasting change for biodiversity conservation.

We are grateful to participants of the IPBES Transformative Change Assessment, in particular Chapter 5 authors for discussions on the role of different actors in transformative change. We are also grateful to J. Martinez-Alier and L. Parks for comments to a previous version and to S. Alvarez-Fernandez and Y. Sica for statistical guidance and analysis. V.R.-G. acknowledges support by the European Research Council under an ERC Consolidator Grant (FP7-771056-LICCI). M.W. and A.S. acknowledge funding from a Ramón y Cajal research grant, Spanish Ministry of Science (RYC2020-029088-I and RYC2022-037653-I, respectively). This work contributes to ICTA-UAB "María de Maeztu" Programme for Units of Excellence of the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities (CEX2024-001506-M funded by MICIU/AEI/10.13039/501100011033).